Browsing by Author "McCormack, Gavin Robert"

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    Associations between Neighbourhood Built Environment and Leisure and Transportation Physical Activity among Canadian-Born Residents and Recent and Established Immigrants in Canada
    (2024-10-22) Masihay Akbar, Hasti; McCormack, Gavin Robert; Turin, Tanvir Chowdhury; Olstad, Dana Lee
    Despite well-established health benefits, nearly half of adults in Canada do not engage in enough physical activity for optimal health benefits. In Canada there are differences in physical activity levels among immigrants and non-immigrants. The built environment has the potential to reduce or widen inequalities if its effects on physical activity differ among population subgroups. While evidence has highlighted potential differences in how the built environment is associated with physical activity across various population subgroups, some equity-seeking groups, such as immigrants, have received little research attention. Globally, most studies examining this association among immigrants have been conducted in the U.S., with inconsistent findings. The study presented in this thesis addresses these knowledge gaps, guided by two relevant theoretical perspectives, including the socioecological model and acculturation theory. The aim of this research was to generate novel evidence regarding the associations between the neighbourhood built environment, specifically objectively-measured walkability, and physical activity according to residency status (Canadian-born, recent immigrants, and established immigrants). Our objectives were 1) to estimate and compare TPA and LPA participation and duration between Canadian-born, recent and established immigrant adults and determine whether neighbourhood walkability accounts for any observed residency group differences, and 2) to estimate and compare the direction and magnitude of associations between neighbourhood walkability and TPA and LPA participation and duration between these groups. The study included cross-sectional analysis of nationally representative data from Canadian Community Health survey (CCHS 2017-2018) linked with 2016 Can-ALE data. We found that recent and established immigrants were more likely than Canadian-born to participate in TPA, but these differences attenuated after controlling for walkability. Moreover, recent and established immigrants were less likely to participate in LPA and undertook fewer LPA minutes, compared to Canadian-born individuals. However, the differences in LPA minutes attenuated after controlling for walkability. Walkability was positively associated with TPA participation and duration in all residency status groups, but the magnitude of these associations differed between these groups. Findings from this thesis suggest that improving neighbourhood walkability could have broad public health benefits, but tailored strategies are essential to address the needs of immigrant populations.
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    Associations between the Neighbourhood Built Environment and Walking
    (2018-07-11) Farkas, Brenlea Jenelle Marie; McCormack, Gavin Robert; Friedenreich, Christine Marthe; Nettel-Aguirre, Alberto
    Physical inactivity is a risk factor for overweight and obesity, type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression, and breast/colon cancer. Despite the known benefits of physical activity, many Canadian adults do not achieve the recommended levels of physical activity necessary to obtain optimal health. Evidence suggests that built characteristics within neighbourhoods are associated with physical activity, and in particular walking. There is growing policy interest in neighbourhood interventions to increase physical activity, specifically walking, suggesting the need for a synthesis of Canadian evidence to better inform local urban planning. There were two main aims of this thesis. The first was to provide a better understanding of how the built environment influences walking behaviour in Canadian adults. The second was to contribute to this body of evidence by studying the associations between individual characteristics of the neighbourhood environment and walking outcomes. A systematized review of Canadian evidence supported findings from other reviews, suggesting that overall walkability, land-use mix, and proximity to destinations are important features of the built environment for promoting transportation walking. Built environment associations with recreation walking are less clear. The systematized review also identified gaps in the current body of research, some of which were addressed in the analytic component of this thesis. A quantitative data analysis for a sample of Canadian adults living in 12 neighbourhoods of varying urban form and socioeconomic status in Calgary, Canada did not find any statistically significant associations between individual characteristics of the neighbourhood built environment and recreation walking or transportation walking, after adjusting for residential self-selection, sociodemographic characteristics, and neighbourhood socioeconomic status. Further research is needed to better understand how individual characteristics of the neighbourhood built environment facilitate or inhibit walking in order to better inform urban planning and public health policy.
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    Changes in Peer Friendships and Physical Activity among Children across School-Grade Transition
    (2016) Swanson, Kenda Charlotte; McCormack, Gavin Robert; Nettel-Aguirre, Alberto; Hawe, Penny; Johnston, Jennifer Cyne
    Children’s physical activity (PA) may be affected by transitioning school grade; however, limited evidence exists on the associations between aspects of children’s peer friendships and their PA over the transition to a new school year. This thesis addressed this gap by examining whether or not associations between children’s peer friendships; including, popularity, number of sent friendship nominations, and friend’s average PA were associated with individual PA pre-, post- and over the transition to a higher school grade. We found that sent friendships and friends’ average PA were positively associated with an individual’s PA pre- and post-transition, and that changes in friendships did not directly correspond with PA changes over the transition. We did not identify differences according to sex. Future studies should employ social network analysis and longitudinal study designs to further examine these relationships. School-based interventions that promote friendly interactions among peers while simultaneously increasing PA are recommended.
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    Development and Assessment of a Neighbourhood International Physical Activity Questionnaire (N-IPAQ)
    (2018-06-08) Frehlich, Levi Colt; McCormack, Gavin Robert; Nettel-Aguirre, Alberto; Friedenreich, Christine Marthe
    Physical activity is a cornerstone for health, moreover, physical inactivity is independently associated with poor health outcomes. The neighbourhood built environment provides a unique opportunity to address both physical activity and inactivity. Higher walkable neighbourhoods have consistently shown increases in active transportation; however, many of these outcomes have been supported using non-context specific tools (i.e., measures of general physical activity). This project addresses this research gap by developing and testing a neighbourhood specific physical activity questionnaire (N-IPAQ). The N-IPAQ demonstrated reliability through self-administered paper and online formats. Moreover, the N-IPAQ demonstrated construct and concurrent validity using objective measures of neighborhood and physical activity. The N-IPAQ was also able to distinguish physical activity differences between high and low walkable neighborhoods. The use of the N-IPAQ in larger population based research could therefore better elucidate the specific built environment characteristics that foster or hinder physical activity.
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    Neighbourhood Built Characteristics and their Associations with Health-related Fitness in Adults
    (2024-07-24) Frehlich, Levi Colt; McCormack, Gavin Robert; McCormack, Gavin Robert; Chowdhury, Tanvir Turin; Doyle-Baker, Patricia Katherine; Salvo, Deborah; Dogra, Shilpa
    Health-related fitness is an important marker of overall health, linked to lower morbidity and mortality. Consistently, evidence associates the neighbourhood built environment with physical activity and with health outcomes. However, sparse evidence links the neighbourhood built environment and health-related fitness. Existing studies typically focussed on cardiorespiratory or morphological fitness, yet health-related fitness is multidimensional. It remains unclear whether neighbourhood built environments that support physical activity also promote or enhance health-related fitness. Evidence suggests there are sex differences in associations between the neighbourhood built environment and physical activity. Therefore, this thesis elucidates the associations between the neighbourhood built environment and components of health-related fitness among urban-dwelling adults stratified on sex. Our systematic review found the neighbourhood built environment was associated with health-related fitness in adults and that in some cases, these associations were independent of physical activity. A secondary analysis of national data found neighbourhood walkability was positively associated with cardiorespiratory fitness but negatively associated with muscular strength, while controlling for accelerometer-measured physical activity. This was followed by a secondary analysis of provincial data associated neighbourhood built characteristics (walkability and greenness) which included muscular strength and body composition, independent of self-reported physical activity and sedentary behaviour. This study found that neighbourhood walkability may support cardiorespiratory and morphological fitness, whereas neighbourhood greenness may positively impact muscular fitness. Relationships between the neighbourhood built environment and health-related fitness were similar for males and females. In summary, neighbourhood built environments that support physical activity might also promote health-related fitness.
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    Neighbourhoods, dogs and walking: an exploration of factors relevant to healthy aging in place
    (2012) Toohey, Ann Madeline; Rock, Melanie; McCormack, Gavin Robert
    The aims of this thesis were to: 1) understand factors related to healthy aging of older adults living in urban environments (i.e., aging in place); and 2) contribute to the evidence-informed case for viewing dogs as contributing to neighbourhoods in ways that may influence healthy aging in place. A scoping review of diverse literatures suggested that dogs may increase physical activity for both dog-owners and non-owners, but that dogs will not have a standard effect across all neighbourhoods. An analysis of data for a sample of older adults (250 yrs) living in Calgary, Canada, found that the dog-owners who frequently walked dogs (24 times/wk) reported more neighbourhood-based recreational walking and high sense of community relative to non-owners. Interventions promoting dog-walking in neighbourhoods, while supporting the specific walking needs of older adults, may help support healthy aging in place.